A chance encounter…

I had wanted to make my blog more than just about travel and I now have the perfect opportunity to do so.

This morning I dropped off a dear friend of mine Steph, at Harare airport where she was departing to South Africa for the next part of her exciting adventure here on the African continent.

Steph and I could certainly be said to have an unconventional friendship but perhaps not so much when one looks at the amount of people travelling around the globe in the present day.

Nonetheless, this wonderful soul and I purely met by chance on my last trip to Zimbabwe when my Mom and I visited a Safari Park (Here’s the link so you can read about Imire and all its beauty!)

We only had a brief conversation, Dr Stephanie Freese, a vet who is originally from North Carolina (USA) and had also lived in Australia for several years, was part of the volunteer crew at Imire and we were observing the rhinos on their morning routines when we got chatting. We followed standard 21st Century protocol and swapped Facebook details and about a month later whilst she was on a trip through the UK she visited Glasgow for a day or two where I showed her around the city and also took her to a Drag show.. (it seemed fitting!)

Steph and I in Glasgow last year.

Fast Forward a few months later and here we are both back in the country where we met. Steph had been working in neighbouring Botswana at a Horse Safari lodge and had a few weeks before her next assignment began in South Africa so she came and spent a few days with my family and I in Harare.

I purely wanted to share with whoever might read this the power that connections can have in this world. Not what those connections can do for you but in a sense of being joined or linked to another. I am of the belief that as humans we are all connected on a spiritual level and my friendship with Steph validates this for me. Through a chance encounter we have developed a beautiful, fun and durable friendship.

So take that chance, strike up that conversation with a complete stranger… who knows where it could lead!

Just last week on a hill walk with Steph!

“You can kiss your family and friends goodbye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.”

Whichever continent I see you on the next time Steph, I look forward to your infectious smile and our ‘interesting’ topics of conversation 😉